Creativity is Key
by N7Tenshei
Summary: Maya Magination always enjoyed giving people a spark of inspiration into each of them to achieve their goals; even if she wasn't noticed. But catching the eye of a white haired guardian was something she never expected for her immortal life. But fun and creativity always seemed to be paired together, so it shouldn't have been a surprise.
1. Prologue: Road Kill

**Creativity is Key**

**Summary: **_**Maya Magination always enjoyed giving people a spark of inspiration into each of them to achieve their goals; even if she wasn't noticed. But catching the eye of a white haired guardian was something she never expected for her immortal life. But fun and creativity always seemed to be paired together, so it shouldn't have been a surprise.**_

**AN: This has been brewing in my mind for a bit and since this isn't a rewrite of the plot for films/books, then it shouldn't lead me to have writer's block.**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything but my oc. So don't sue.**

* * *

**Prologue: Road Kill**

* * *

"Alright, Maya," a middle aged woman grinned to a blonde haired teen walking beside her, "What are you thinking of now?" Blue eyes turned to stare at the woman and blinked.

"Nothing." Came the reply from the girl. "Just a little idea for a book."

"Just a little a idea?" the woman's eyebrows rose. "Since when are all of your ideas _little?_"

Maya Greene scoffed, "To you, mom, they seem large, but to me: they are a simple."

Maya's mother rolled her eyes. "Well pardon me for not being as amazing as you when it comes to my imagination." she said while bowing mockingly and Maya laughed.

Both mother and daughter were almost the same person when it came to their sense of humour and likes, but not their looks. While Maya had blond hair, green eyes, and pale skin her mother had brown hair, tanned skin and brown eyes. It was easy to tell who came from British heritage and who came from Italian heritage (**AN: No offense to anyone since this is basically my mother and I in real life)**. Yet none of them cared.

Though it wasn't the case for those living in London, England in 1940. With the Italians part of the Axis and the British on the Allies, tension began to rise for those who originated from Italy; Maya's mother included.

The Greene family did their best to ignore the suspicious looks others gave them while walking down the streets and Maya did her best to ignore those at school. However, her patience was pushed to the limits sometimes and resulted in her parents coming to school and seeing her with bloody knuckles and a split lip.

Whenever her parents asked why she got into a fight at school, she'd just say: "Because they would not leave me alone." And leave it at that.

Most parents would be worried that their children's childhood was being scarred by the hostility growing from the war, but not Maya's parents. They knew Maya would always look to the brighter side of life than grow up pessimistic from all of her sketches and ideas for books. They all spoke of adventure, excitement and a world not full of prejudice towards others because of who they are, where they came from, or what they believed in.

Maya Greene was an bright young girl who believed in moving forward rather than looking back and wasn't afraid to speak her mind.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Maya exclaimed dramatically, "I know that I'm amazing." She struck a heroic pose and giggled with her mother. A mocking laugh was heard behind them and both Greenes turned around.

"Well look who it is." A black haired girl sneered from across the street. "The offspring and her spy of a mother. Trying to find some info for your axis friends?"

"Oh, Lord." Maya face-palmed, "Is that really the best insult you can come up with at a short notice, Amy? Cause if it was, then I'd be worried." After so many boys and girls bullied her because of her heritage, most insults went through one ear and out the other until Maya became annoyed with their persistence. They were like annoying flies that couldn't be swat and Amy Stone was the most annoying out of all of them.

Amy's face twisted unattractively into anger. "Shut up, half-breed! You have no right to talk to me like that, or anyone else for that matter. Especially your traitor of a father and whore of a mother."

Both Greenes just blinked at Amy boredly. "Is this how it is at school each day?" the oldest of the two asked her daughter and Maya nodded. "Can't say I blame you for punching your classmates."

"Yeah..." Maya sighed, "But you get used to it after a while." She turned her back on the fuming Amy behind them and continued walking. "C'mon, mom, dad's waiting for us at home with beef stew." Maya's mother smiled at her daughter's choice of ignoring Amy and followed after her.

"So what was your idea for the book anyway?" The older woman asked curiously.

"Oh, just some explorer who travels around the world, looking for treasure." Maya replied happily.

"Hey! Don't turn your back on me." The black haired banshee screeched and stomped after them. Maya spun to tell Amy off but the words died on her lips when she saw a car speeding towards the other teen and ran.

"LOOK OUT!" The blond yelled and pushed Amy out of the way. Maya watched as her 'enemy' landed on the side walk in a crumpled heap and breathed a sigh of relief... before pain exploded on her ribs.

Maya felt herself fly through the air and land on the cement road a few feet away, trying to breathe but failing. Two screams were heard and the faces of her mother and Amy filled her foggy vision.

"Maya!" She heard her mother cry and felt her hand being held in a tight grasp before it went numb. Darkness surrounded her vision and became dimmer as time dragged by and she could no longer feel the pain in her chest. Her hearing became muffled and could only hear her heart beat slowing down at a fast pace until it stopped completely.

Once her heart was no longer beating, the darkness had filled Maya's vision entirely and she slowly drifted off into what seemed to be a never ending dream. 'And to think I never got a chance to say goodbye to my family...' were her final words before she lost consciousness.

* * *

**Scotland, 1968**

Wind blew harshley around an old castle on a cliff in Scotland. Snowflakes piling in the corners of ruined stone walls of the castle's courtyard. A winter storm raged through Scotland's coast with fierce temperatures below zero degrees and no mortal was foolish enough to venture out at that time.

But the hooded figure standing atop one of the castle's column's wasn't mortal...

In a deep purple parka with a grey, fur lined hood, the immortal being calmly sketched the surrounding ruins with precise handstrokes. Every detail upon the stone structure was captured perfectly with pencil and the shading was corrected with care. The paper used for the sketching was unaffected by the current weather condition and remained flat and dry, impossible for anyone else but the parka clad being.

A small fairy-like girl watched the person sketch the castle with great concern; her black hair almost coming undone from its ornate bun and the cold seeping through her black kimono, but she didn't mind. She couldn't feel the chilling breeze on her vinyl body, yet the sketcher could and she didn't want them to catch a cold.

"Mistress!" The doll yelled in concern, "How much longer will you be here in this weather?"

There was a moment of silence through the wind and the pencil scratching against paper. Then a feminent voice, lightly accented in British, replied, "About 10 more minutes, Yuki. Why?"

"Because you'll freeze in this weather!" The now called 'Yuki' screeched. "You may not be able to die easily, but you can still get sick! Do you realize how far you will be behind in your work if you are ill?"

The young woman paused in her work and turned to stare at Yuki behind her hood. A green eye and and an amber eye were noticable through the darkness the hood supplied and showed a mixture of fondness and mischief towards the doll. Giggles erupted from the woman as a leather clad hand reached up and pulled the hood down to reveal her face.

The woman could only be described as a teenager between the ages of 16-17 with the complexion of a porcelain doll. Chin-length Blond hair highlighted with numerous neon colours framed her soft face and danced wildly in the wind and snow, yet she still smiled at her companion.

"I am aware of the chances of getting sick, Yuki." The teen spoke happily, "But this is probably my only chance of sketching a castle during a blizzard and I won't miss out on it." She looked at her surroundings and let out a deep, content sigh. "There is something beautiful about winter and the snow it brings."

"Yes," Yuki grumbled, "Winter is beautiful, but only when it's a SNOWFALL, not a BLIZZARD during Easter! The Easter Bunny is no doubt angry with this turn of events and is probably hunting down whoever is causing this."

The teen raised a brow at her friend, "That would be Jack Frost."

The doll spluttered, "Okay, Jack Frost! But the point is that you can and will get sick in this blizzard unless you find a source of warmth."

The blond girl nodded mutely and stood up, putting her sketchbook in a navy blue book bag. "Fine." She sighed, "I'll do something about this blizzard if it'll stop you from worrying."

"W-what are you going to do, mistress?" Yuki blinked in surprise. Normally it would take a lot more to convince the girl when she pestered herabout her health. So this was surprising to say the least.

Ignoring Yuki's shock, a grin spread across the pale face. "Simple. I'm going straight to the source of this weather. Jack Frost himself." She began to walk through the ruins before she looked back, "And for the last time, Yuki. Call me Maya."

* * *

The blizzard became worse and worse as Maya and Yuki travelled further into Scotland, proof that they were getting closer to winter spirit's location. Maya had pulled the hood back up and donned a pair of black goggles as protection against the wind and snow while Yuki calmly floated nearby. The doll was after all made of vinyl and could see cleary into the white abyss they were in, thus making her Maya's guide for their trip.

"How much further till we find Frosty, Yuki?" Maya yelled against the wind, clutching her hood tighter as a powerful gust flew through her form.

"We should be in the center of this storm." Yuki yelled back, "Meaning Jack is somewhere around in this forest." She scanned the surrounding trees closely for any hint of another person (since she had no clue what Jack Frost looked like) and blinked when she saw a boy sleeping on a thick branch of a nearby tree.

"There is someone over there!" The doll pointed out and Maya carefully approached the tree until she too saw the boy, taking in his appearance.

The first thing Maya noticed was the deathly pale skin the boy had, followed by his white, messy hair and how he seemed to be at least her age or older. Then she took in the blue, frosted hoody, the skinny pants held with straps and the Shepard's staff held loosely in his hands. Frost covered the area where he held the staff and was lightly tapping against the tree that was accumulated with frost.

There was no expression of pain over his face or any trace of being negatively affected by the weather around him, so it lead Maya to the only conclusion she could think of. He was Jack Frost, and he was napping, possibly creating the blizzard by accident.

"The Easter Bunny is certainly not going to forgive him for this..." Maya muttered and began poking him in his ribs.

"Yoohoo! Pretty boy." She sang, "Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey." A grunt escaped Jack's lips and his eyes fluttered open, revealing ice blue orbs filled with sleep. He slowly got up and let out a big yawn, not noticing Maya yet.

"Ugh, how long was I out?" She heard him mutter to himself and smiled amusedly.

"For most of the day." She commented and watched as the winter sprite jumped in surprise.

"What the-" Jack spun and stared down in shock at her. "When did you get here?"

Maya shrugged, "A few minutes before you woke up. A blizzard has been raging across most of Europe since last night and I thought that this lovely continent could use a break."

Jack blinked owlishly at her. "Wait... You can see me?" He asked and Maya slapped her forhead. Yuki repeated her action, but was unnoticed by the gawking teen staring at her mistress.

"Did you not hear a thing I said?" Maya asked incredously. She and Yuki had travelled for at leats 3 hours in the blizzard to talk to Jack Frost and when she finally confronts him on the matter, he asks if he sees her.

"Just answer the question." Jack snapped with a hint a desperation and Maya felt a painful jab in her chest.

"Yes," She spoke gently, "I can see you."

"How?" Jack's eyes noticabley widened with hope and Maya felt guilty for what she was about to say.

"Because I'm spirit too." Maya explained to the blue skinned man. Jack's shoulders slumped slightly and Maya felt her guilt increase. "Sorry..." she apologized

dearly, however Jack brushed it off with a grin.

"Ah, it's alright." He assured, "At least I get to talk to someone without being yelled at to change the weather."

Maya shifted nervously and gave him a sheepish grin, "Well... I'm not really going to yell at you, but I do need you to call off this blizzard." A white brow raised on Jack's forehead and he leaned closer to her from his perch on the tree.

"And..." He drawled playfully, "What if I don't feel like calling off this storm?" He shifted into a more comfortable position against the tree and crossed his arms behind his head.

"Then you'll be ruining a full day of Easter for everyone in Europe." Came the deadpanned reply from Maya, "And the Easter Bunny will most likely hunt you down if he hasn't started yet."

Jack let out a snort of amusement. "Like he's ever going to find out it's me. Besides..." The sprite trailed off to see the Kimono clad doll hovering behind Maya and examined her curiously.

"So you're not the only one who has little companions doing your bidding, eh?" Jack stated, rather than asked. Yuki huffed and crossed her arms before looking away, leaving Maya to frown and Jack to raise his eyebrows in interest.

"Is she always like that?" The winter sprite asked and Maya shook her head.

"No," Maya smiled, "She's just concerned about my health and well being after being in this blizzard for a few hours."

Jack frowned, "And why were you out in this type of weather for a long period of time?" He jumped down from his perch on the tree and carefully approached Maya, trying to see her face through the hood, goggles, and snow.

Maya shrugged nonchalently, "Just sketching a scene during a blizzard." Seeing his expression, she clarified, "Gives it more personality." She watched the boy narrow his eyes as if he was deciphering a puzzel and heard him humm.

"What spirit are you, exactly?" He questioned curiously and Maya felt a blush seep onto her cheeks at a sudden realization.

"Oh my gosh!" She cried out in emberassement, "I forgot to introduce myself." Her face got redder as Jack laughed lightly and leaned against his staff.

"Then I guess you should, hmm?" He teased.

"Shut up." Maya grumbled half-heartedly and then cleared her throat. "I am Maya Magination, spirit of imagination and creativity." She followed with a dramatic bow.

Jack's grin grew wider at Maya's antics and returned the bow. "Well, Maya, I am Jack Frost, and I can certainly say that I've never seen you around here before. Does your looks match your name?" He wondered and reached for her hood before it was slapped away by Yuki.

"No!" Yuki wagged her finger in a scolding manner at the two. "Mistress has already removed her hood once and I will not allow it to happen again in this condition."

Jack stared at Maya for an explanation and she shrugged. "Might as well call off the blizzard." She said, "Yuki will only continue to send herself into an early grave if either A) The weather improves, or B) I find shelter. So take your pick."

Maya watched Jack riase his hands up in mock surrender adn slam his staff down. Instantly, the wind died away and the snowflakes grew fewer until it was a gentle snowfall. The white abyss that surrounded the three vanished and was replaced by bare trees.

"Woah..." The spirit of creativity and her friend breathed.

"Alright," Jack started playfully, "I did my end of the bargain, now do yours." He crossed his arms and stared at Maya expectantly.

"Very well," Maya sighed before a thought enetered her mind. A mischevious grin stretched along her face and she said, in a warning tone, "Just don't scream. It takes a few minutes for people to get past the teeth and scars."

Doubt swiftly swam through Jack's eyes and Yuki covered her mouth to stifle a giggle at how his skin grew slightly more pale than before. Seeing that as her cue, Maya pulled of her goggles and hood, showing the spirit of snow her multi-coloured hair and pale face.

Jack Frost's face was the epidime of shock as he took in her features. "Boo." Maya teased and laughed when he pretended to scream.

"Aaagh! It's horrible!" He 'cried' and covered his eyes with the hand not holding his staff. Both spirits laughed at each other and Maya could feel a warm sensation fill her chest. It had been a while since she had contact with anyone else besides Yuki and her other dolls, and it felt nice.

Sure she met the other spirits after her awakening as a spirit in 1947, including the guardians. However she could never really have a proper conversation with them due to the busy schedules they each had.

But now that she was here, talking to Jack Frost and joking with him, it brought a familiar sensation through her body; as if she had done this before in her previous life and she wanted more of it.

"Oh, come on!" Maya declared in mock offense, "At least I look better than some of the other spirits."

"That's true," Jack agreed, "You could be hairy all over and have large ears."

Maya nodded, "True... true." Before she could continue on to speak crunching snow met their ears and they all froze.

"JACK FROST!" An australian accented voice echoed through the forest. "Where the bloody hell are ya?"

"Well speak of the devil," Jack grinned and placed his staff over his shoulder, "And he shall appear." Maya stared at him with a raised eyebrow that clearly said 'I told you so' and he shrugged.

"Okay, so you were right about the Easter Bunny hunting me down." Jack confessed nonchalently. "Would you like a medal for that?" Maya shook her head.

"No." She admitted, "But I would like to talk to you again. Maybe whenever you happen to be in London, England you could drop by my hideout and chat?"

The blue teen blinked at her in surprise before giving her a genuine smile. "I'd like that." He confessed, "Though it wouldn't seem fair if I didn't give you an invite to come talk to me if you ever get a chance to be in Burgess, USA."

"Deal!" Maya chirped, ignorant of Yuki's muttering of being busy, before the crunching snow became louder; and the grumbling following it. She quickly grabbed Jack's arm, mindful of the frost, and dragged him behind a nearby snowbank. Yuki floated after them hesitantly before Maya pulled her down with them.

They all stumbled into the snow and Jack hissed: "What are you doing?"

"Saving your blue arse from an angry bunny." Maya whispered with a smirk and made a snowball. "The moment we see Aster, Yuki and I will throw these snowballs at him. It should give you enough time to fly off into safety. Got it?"

She shoved the snowball into a spluttering Yuki's hands and made another one for herself quikly. They could hear the Easter Bunny coming closer and tensed.

"Where are you, frostbite?" Maya heard and peered over the mound to see the gray, furry back of an oversized rabbit. He had a boomarang strapped to his side and leather guantlets around his wrists. Black fur lined his sides and back as if they were tattoos and Maya grinned. This was the Easter Bunny and it was time to spread some hell.

"Now!" Maya shouted and threw the snowball at the Easter Bunny. It struck squarely at his back and he froze. Yuki's snowball came soon after and it pelted the damp fur, soaking it even more. Maya didn't give the bunny time to move and threw several more snowballs at him.

"Go, Jack!" She hissed and watched as he called the wind to take him back to Burgess, leaving her and Yuki with an enraged rabbit.

"Come back here, you!" Bunnymund yelled and hopped after the laughing boy, who was gaining more altitude by the second, leaving Maya and Yuki alone.

The spirit of creativity stared after the fleeing spirit of winter in wonder, a small smile upon her face. "Jack Frost..." Maya whispered, the warm sensation from before filling her chest, "It was nice meeting you." She pulled her hood back up and walked in the direction that would bring her back London, England, smiling the whole way.

* * *

High above Scotland, Jack casually soared through the air with a smile similar to Maya's. "Maya Magination..." He tested out her name. "I look forward to our next meeting." he mused to himself and merrily continued on with his journey home in content.

**And that concludes our prologue. So what do think? Don't be shy to comment, it's really great to people's different opinion. But no flames please.**


	2. The Beginning

**Creativity is Key**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians. Simple as that.**

**AN: Thank-you to everyone who commented on my prologue! I never thought that people would like it that much. :)**

**Chapter 1: The Beginning**

* * *

Maya Magination loved anything that involved creating or building objects during her free time. It was a way of tuning herself out from the outside world and relieve stress after a day of travelling around the world to inspire people. She'd just turn on her MP3, put her earbuds on, and listen to the music blasting away while she worked on her latest project. Hours would pass by at rapid speeds while Maya worked until either she was finished, or needed to leave the materials to dry for a certain amount of time.

Already the refurbished, yet abandoned, warehouse that Maya lived in was full of her previous projects. Little figurines lined the white shelves on each wall, mask's hung from nails, and gadgets were carefully placed in foam cases to prevent them from breaking. There were also drawings ranging from sketches and pencil crayon to charcoal and paint hanging on the light green walls. Maya's home was an artist's dream come true to anyone who ever saw it, which was all of her dolls that came flying in and out every day.

The dolls were probably one of Maya's most valuable creations. Each doll carried a piece of her own power that allowed them to live and spread over different countries. They helped Maya with her work as a spirit of all things creative and relieved some of the burdens she'd have on a regular basis. If anyone could see what the dolls looked like, they'd see a mismatch of dolls from each culture and company ranging from plastic and vinyl to cloth and faux fur. But there was one doll that no one would see without seeing Maya first and that was Yuki.

Yuki was the first doll Maya created back in 1950 after finding her abandoned in Japan with a missing arm. Feeling sorry for the doll, Maya brought her back and replaced her arm with the best of her abilities -though still discovering them at the time- and restored her to her former glory, including her clothes and hair. Thankful for what Maya had done, Yuki had taken it upon herself to take care of her new mistress and be her second pair of eyes and ears wherever Maya went and alert her of anything important.

"Mistress! Mistress!"

Or when trying to catch the spirit's attention whilst crafting.

Maya let out a whine from the back of her throat from the interruption and turned off her MP3 in regret. She was almost done sculpting her ocarina in clay and needed to tune it correctly when she heard Yuki's voice call her by that ridiculous title the doll gave her.

'_I swear she has the worst timing in the world sometimes..._' Maya thought annoyed and placed a wet piece of cloth over her ocarina to prevent it from drying. She then twisted the chair to face the opposite direction to face Yuki with her deadpanned/annoyed expression.

"What is it, Yuki?" She asked calmly and watched as her companion flew towards her in a frantic matter; horror and anger twisting her vinyl face. Maya felt her calm mask break into a concerned expression as Yuki did not stop flying back and forth before her as if she was pacing at an incredible speed. "Is there something wrong?"

"Yes!" The doll stopped to cry out before pacing again. Maya could barely hear Yuki's worried muttering and only caught pieces of it; saying "It's terrible... I don't... how he got in..."

Maya blinked. "Who got in?" She was beginning to think that she gave Yuki too much of her energy the last time the doll was exhausted. She was making little to no sense about some random person that got into some sort of building and was slowly convincing Maya send her back to the work bench for a checkup.

"_Jack!_" Yuki hissed. "He's here!" the concern Maya felt suddenly flew out of the closest window and annoyance took its place.

After she met Jack Frost on Easter day in 1968, a competition between Yuki and him was created. Yuki would try to keep Jack out of Maya's home whenever he visited and Jack would try to sneak past. It was funny to Maya at the beginning, but then it grew very old whenever Yuki came into her room to complain about her latest failed attempt to keep Jack out of the studio. But it seemed that both the Spirit of Winter and her vinyl companion enjoyed their little game, so Maya didn't have the heart to end it.

"Well, Yuki..." Maya sighed, "There's always next time. It's not like he'll always be able to get past your wards."

"Oh I wouldn't be sure of that." Jack chimed as he appeared in her room, a cheshire grin stretched across his pale, blue face. He stopped right in front of Maya's chair and gave Yuki a wink. "I'd suggest getting rid of the teddy bears and hire some yetis instead, dollface. Can't bust into North's place because of them."

"I'm pretty sure that North wouldn't appreciate it if Yuki used his yetis just for a game you two play." Maya commented dryly before Yuki could strangle Jack. "They are there to make sure no one unpleasant sneaks in to mess with his toys." A sudden thought came to mind and she frowned. "By the way, shouldn't you be allowed to come and go as you please since you're a guardian?"

It had been a year since Jack had become a guardian for the children of the world and Maya kept on forgetting that. Jack's job was still the same as it was before he was a guardian and didn't alter him at all, except for the fact that he might have gotten stronger due to number of children believing in him increasing (which was probably why Yuki could not keep Jack out of her home yet) but Maya didn't care. She was just happy that Jack got his wish of being noticed by children, even if she wasn't -though she didn't care that much about being believed in.

But besides being believed in, Maya had thought that since Jack was a guardian he would be allowed entrance into North's workshop in the North Pole. As if reading her thoughts, Jack chuckled, "Yeah, but I wasn't a guardian for the last 300 years before, eh?"

"Dear, God..." Maya slapped her forehead. "How the hell could I forget that?" There was no doubt in her mind that Yuki was shaking her head and Jack was holding in his laughter at her absent mindedness.

"Looks like the Spirit of Creativity isn't that smart as she says she is." Jack teased

and Maya pretended to hit him.

"Shut up!" She bit back. "Everyone has their off days. Besides," Maya leaned back and crossed her arms. "Shouldn't you be on the lookout for Pitch Black?" Even though the last part was still said to be a tease, Maya was still cautious.

The Spirit of Nightmares was the bane of Maya's sanity and artwork and annoyed her to no end. Sure that both of them agreed to leave the other alone, but whenever he was around, her dolls, including Yuki, would freeze on the spot and remain there until he was gone. Not to mention that his Nightmare Sand tended to ruin any piece of Maya's artwork it touched, leaving canvases stained black or figurines destroyed. And the worst part is that it wasn't even intentional to begin with, making Maya worry what would happen if Pitch was being intentional.

"Well," Jack cracked his neck, "I would." Maya and Yuki waited for Jack to finish but he didn't and both girls exchanged annoyed expressions before looking back at the blue hooded young, though not really, man.

"_But..._" They prompted and Jack sighed.

"He hasn't made an appearance yet." He continued, "Last time I saw him was when his own nightmares dragged him back to his home under that old, rotting bed. I doubt that he'll come back so soon." Suddenly a loud cracking sound filled the room and caught the attention of its three occupants. They all turned to look at the far corner of the room, where Maya's bed was, and saw that one of Maya's figurine's was broken in half. Black sand littered the figurine's base and slowly coloured it's white, porcelain surface black.

"He wouldn't make an appearance yet, huh?" Maya retorted sarcastically, her British accent thickened with annoyance at another sculpture destroyed, and watched as the shadow around her bed increased. The lights slowly flickered on and off as the shadow grew and began to take the texture of black sand. Slowly the sand began to stack on itself and sculpted into the form of a man with his arms crossed and leaning on one leg, the other tapping its foot boredly.

Yuki let out a squeak and became petrified in mid air while Jack sprung into action and brought out his staff in a defensive pose. Maya just rolled her eyes, crossed her arms, leaned back on her chair and watched as the sand slowly took on the details of Pitch Black with mild interest; his hair spiked, the sharp nose, the jacket and pants, etc. The sand finally stopped moving after a few minutes and changed to become skin, hair and cloth, revealing a smirking King of Nightmares in all of his glory. The air in the room grew tense and Jack glared heatedly at Pitch, then Maya let out a laugh.

"Always was one for dramatics, weren't you?" Maya commented, amused, and Jack turned his head to look at her with a frown.

"Very useful if you wish to leave a lasting impression on others, Maya." Pitch replied and Maya observed as Jack's frowning face morphed into confusion.

"Wait," Jack blinked, "You two know each other?"

"Yep." Maya nodded, "Since..." She pretended to think, "1997, I believe?"

"I think that's quite accurate." Pitch replied. "Surprised that you'd remember."

"How could I when you destroyed my pastel drawing of the Eiffel Tower." Came the deadpanned response and the smirk on Boogeyman's face grew even more.

"Could someone please tell me what's going on!?" Jack yelled and the other two spirits stared at him; one in resentment and the other calm.

"Stay out of this, _Frost_." Pitch Black hissed. "Just because you and your guardian friends detest me doesn't mean that all of the other spirits do as well." Jack's gaze landed on Maya and she could see his eyes asking if it was true or not.

Maya bit her lip. "Couldn't have said it better myself, Boogey." She chirped and got off her chair, brushing off Pitch's huff at her nickname for him, and place a comforting hand on Jack's shoulder as a form of apology. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about our... acquaintance."

Jack grunted and shrugged her hand off. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked, hurt and betrayel lacing his words. "We knew each other since Easter in 1968 and not once have you told me that you knew him personally." Maya flinched at the accusation and felt herself bristle up in anger.

"Because it never seemed like something important enough to tell you!" She shot back in defence. "We made a deal to leave the other alone and not get in the way of each other's work." Jack opened his mouth to argue but Maya held up a hand to silence him. "And no, that is not the reason why I never went to you, North, Toothiana, Aster, or Sandman about Pitch's plans last year. I had no idea what he was doing and hadn't heard from him since New Years 2003."

"Well if he does have a deal with you," Jack growled, "Then what is he doing here in your home?" His eyes glowed with anger and he leaned closer to her as a way to tower over her smaller frame. However Maya remained unaffected by his posture and stared back up at him evenly.

"I believe I can answer that question, Frost." Pitch called from his place at the far end of the room and both parties looked at him. He pretended to examine his nails from his seat on Maya's bed and non-chalently said: "And it has something to do regarding dear Maya's safety."

'_What...?_' The young spirit whispered in her mind in confusion. There was no one Maya knew that would want to harm her or her dolls. The mortals couldn't see her and all the spirits she met were never hostile towards her, including Pitch Black, so why would he tell her that she was in possible danger? Did he have some form of predicting future accidents?

The Winter Guardian pulled Maya behind him and she let out a yelp. "Don't you dare touch her." Pitch held his hands up in mock surrender.

"Wasn't planning to." he stated condescendingly. "But I suggest you take her to stay at North's workshop for a while. And.." he drawled, "Maybe let the fatman know that the Seal of Sanitas is in need of maintenance."

Maya raised an eyebrow. "Seal of Sanitas?" She questioned, and an unexpected chill crawled up her back when her mind translated what sanitas meant. However she didn't try to let it affect her and played it off by saying: "The Seal of Sanity? What unoriginal sap came up with that?"

"The one who is currently up in the sky as a crater filled rock with nothing better to do for the majority of a millenium." Pitch answered bluntly. "Now if you'll excuse me, my work here is done." He got off of her bed and walked past Jack, Maya, and Yuki to reach the door leading out to the room. Just as he was about to leave he paused. "By the way... I applaud you with your knowledge of Latin, Maya."

Said girl shrugged, "Well when you've got eternity to do whatever you want, you'd find ways to spend that time."

Pitch cocked an eyebrow at her. "And you never considered trying to get people to believe in you as a way of spending that time?"

A snort escaped Maya's lips. "Yeah right. Unlike you," she pointed at Pitch, "or Jack," she gestured to Jack, "I don't crave the need for popularity. I prefer working from the sidelines with a few friends that got my back all the time."

"Which is what makes you one weird little girl." Jack piped up in a grave tone and earned himself an elbow to the ribs.

"Shut it." Maya warned to her friend and looked at Pitch to say goodbye.

...only to see that he was gone.

"Why that slippery little..." The only guardian in the room hissed in outrage. "When I get my hands on him I'm gonna-"

"Jack," Maya interrupted, "Enough with the threats. Pitch is already gone and will not be reappearing any time soon. He knows what you and the others are capable of. Besides," she carefully grabbed the still immobile Yuki and cradled her in her arms, "I don't think the purpose for his return was to wreak havoc."

"Then what do you think his goal was?" Came the sarcastic question from Jack, "To threaten his so called friend's life?" A muscle twitched in Maya's jaw and her eyes grew narrow. She was getting sick of Jack's jealousy towards her knowing Pitch in person and desperately wanted to club him in the head with something.

Instead she faced him with her eyes burning in irritation. "Would you shut up about the relationship Pitch and I have." She said in a calm, deadly voice. "Pitch was not threatening me, but warning me of something. And I think it was something to do with that Seal of Sanitas."

"What makes you think it has something to do with that seal?"

"Because it literally means Seal of Sanity. And if the Man in the Moon created that seal then it's obviously something important that North must know."

"If it is important, than wouldn't the other guardians be alerted about it by MiM already?" Maya looked out her window and stared at the darkening sky.

"I think MiM has." She stated calmly and felt Jack stand behind her.

"How would you..." Her friend started but trailed off when he saw the sky. "...Oh"

The sky was filled with wavering rings of multiple colours that pulsed from the direction of north. It was not noticable to any regular human who would catch a glimpse of the sky, however any spirit could see it and knew what the meaning was. It was a signal for the Guardians of Children to meet for something of vital importance and Maya could only assume that it involved the seal Pitch Black was talking about.

"So," she smirked after staring at the Northern Lights for a bit, "To North's then?"

The white haired spirit took a deep breath. "Might as well." he exhaled deeply and started for her door once again. "Need me to carry you?"

"Nope." Maya chimed and picked up a strange back pack from its place behind her desk. "I came prepared."

"The heck is that?"

"A jetpack." She watched as his eyes bugged out.

"Where'd you get a jetpack!?"

"I made it." Was the simple answer.

"Do I even dare ask how you did that?"

"Lots of blood, sweat, swearing, and rage quitting multiple times. Now could you help me put this on since my arms are full?" She gestured to Yuki in her other hand and smiled when Jack took the jetpack and secured it in place on her back. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." He returned the smile. "Shall we get going?" and walked out of her door, followed by Maya herself.

Once they were both outside Jack called the wind and took off into the air with grace. Maya then activated her jetpack and felt the machine on her back hum to life and pushed her into the air. Wings sprang out from the jet's sides and carefully balance the girl's trajectory as she steered her way to the North Pole.

Whoops and hollars of excitement filled the air as Maya relished in the feeling of flying, Yuki still in her arms securely, and thought understood how Jack and North could enjoy flying so much. It was amazing.

She watched as Jack flew amongst the clouds ahead of her and tried her best to catch up. Once she did, the immortal duo contently flew to North's home in the Arctic, unaware of what waited for them in the near future.

* * *

**So... good? Not good? I need input, people so I can continue writing. If I can get 15 reviews, that aren't flames, then I'll write Chapter 2. And yes that includes the reviews I already have.**


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